for it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judab it is also evident that after the Order of Melchisedec there ariseth another Priest who is made not after the Law of a carnal commandment but after the power of an endless life for being that the Priesthood is changed there must of necessity be a change of the Law Heb. 7. for he testifieth thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedec which Order is not of a carnal commandment neither is this Priest a mortal man subject to fall and infirmities More might be said concerning this Melchisedec which met Abraham and blessed him but the Apostle is very laâ—ge in the demonstration of him for he saith Heb. 5.11 that he had many things to say of him hard to be uttered because they were dull of hearing After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a Vision saying Fear not Abram I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward and Abram said Lord God what wilt thou give me seeing I go childless and one that is born in mine house must be mine heir the Lord said this shall not be thine heir but one that comes out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir and the Lord said look up towards Heaven and tell the Stars if thou beest able to number them and he said so shall thy seed be and Abram believed and it was accounted to him for righteousness And when Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared unto him and said walk before me and be thou perfect and my Covenant shall be with thee and thou shalt be the Father of many Nations and thy name shall be called no more Abram but Abraham shall be thy name a Father of many Nations have I made thee and as for Sarai thy Wife thou shalt not call her name Sarai but Sarah shall her name be and I will bless her and she shall be the Mother of Nations then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed and said in his heart shall a child be born unto him that is 100 years old and shall Sarah that is ninety years old bear and Abraham said unto God Oh that Ishmael might live before the Lord and God said Sarah thy Wife shall bear thee a Son indeed and thou shalt call his name Isaac and I will establish my Covenant with him for an everlasting Covenant and with his seed after him and as for Ishmael I have heard thee behold I have blest him but my Covenant will I establish with Isaac which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year And according to this the Lod sent his Angels unto Abraham and Sarah to confirm unto them that at the time appointed she should bring forth a child and the Lord said unto Abraham wherefore did Sarah laugh saying shall I have a child is any thing too hard for the Lord at the time appointed will I return unto thee according to the time of life and Sarah shall have a Son so at the same time the Lord discovered unto Abraham what he intended against Sodom And the men turned their faces towards Sodom and Abraham set them on their way and the Lord said shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do seeing that Abraham shall be surely great and a mighty Nation and all the Nations of the earth shall be blessed in him for I know that he will command his Children and his Houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord and do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him And the Lord said because of the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sins are very grievous I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto me and if not I will know and the men turned their faces from thence and went towards Sodom but Abraham stood before the Lord and drew near and prayed unto the Lord for the righteous in Sodom and the Lord heard him as you may read Gen. 18. And so the two Angels came into Lot's house and Lot received them kindly and so he and all his house were preserved the men said unto Lot hast thou any here besides thy Son-in-law and thy Sons and thy Daughters and whatever thou hast in the City bring it out for we will destroy this place because that the cry of it is waxen great before the Lord and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it So the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire out of Heaven from the Lord but just Lot was preserved in the little City called Zoar and was permitted to escape thither that his Soul might live he his Sons and his Daughters and all the Cities round about were destroyed all the Cities of the plain And God remembred Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow where Lot dwelt in the plain And Abraham got up early in the morning and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and the smoke of the Country rose up as the smoke of a Furnace Gen. 19.28 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said for Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a Son in his old age and Abraham called the name of his Son that was born unto him Isaac and he circumcised him the eight day as God had commanded him and Abraham was a hundred years old when his Son Isaac was born And it came to pass after these things that God called Abrabam and said unto him take now â—hy Son thine only Son whom thou lovest and get thee into the Land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his Ass and took two of the young men with him and Isaac his Son and clave the wood for a burnt-offeâ—â—g then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off and Abraham said unto the young men abide you here with the Asses and I and the Lad will go yonder and worship and come again unto you And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it upon Isaac his Son and he took fire in his hand and a knife and they went both of them together And Isaac spake unto Abraham his Father and said my Father and he said here am I my Son and he said here is the fire and the wood but where is the Lamb for a burnt-offering and he answered my Son the Lord will provide one So they went both of them together and they came to the place which God had told him of and Abraham built an Altar and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his Son and laid him upon the wood and Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his Son and the Angel of the Lord called
unto him out of Heaven and said Abraham Abraham and he said here am I and he said lay not thine hand upon the Lad neither do thou any thing unto him for now I know thou fearest God seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only Son from me and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind him a Ram caught in a thicket by his horns and Abraham went and took the Ram and offered him up for a burnt-offering instead of his Son and Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh as it is to this day in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen And the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham the second time and said by my self I have sworn saith the Lord because thou hast done this thing and hast not with-held thy Son thine only Son that in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the Stars of Heaven and as the sand upon the Sea shore and thy seed shall possess the Gates of thine enemies and in thy seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice Heb. 6.23 34 So Abraham and his Son returned unto his young men and they rose up and went to Beershebu together where Abraham dwelt And Sarah being 127 years old she died in Kiriath-arba the same is Hebron in the Land of Canaan and Abraham mourned for Sarah and wept for her and Abraham bought a burying place of the Sons of Heth to bury his dead in out of his sight Gen. 23. So when Abraham grew old and stricken in age he caused his eldest servant of his House to put his hand under his thigh and made him swear by the God of Heaven and the God of the earth and said thou shalt not take a Wife unto my Son of the Canaanites amongst whom I dwell but thou shalt go into my Country and unto my kindred and take a Wife unto my Son Isaac and the servant said peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me and Abraham said the Lord God of Heaven which took me from my Fathers house and from the Land of my kindred and which spake unto me and sware unto me saying unto thy seed will If give this Land he shall send his Angel before thee and thou shalt take a Wife for my Son from thence and if the woman will not be willing to follow thee then thou shalt be clear from this mine Oath And the Servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his Master and sware to him concerning the matter So the Servant believed in Abraham's words and made ready for his journey and took with him Camels and Goods of his Masters and set forward on his journey to Mesopotamia and at a well before he came to the City he met with Rebekah Bethuâ—l's daughter whose Mother's name was Milcah the Wife of Nahor Abraham's Brother and shelentreated him kindly and carried him home to her Fathers house and her Father and Mother and brother Laban received him kindly into their house and said unto him thou blessed of the Lord come in and they set meat before him and the servant declared unto him whose servant he was and how his Master had sent him and declared what his message was unto them as the whole passage you may read in Gen. 24. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said the thing proceedeth from the Lord we cannot speak unto thee good or bad behold Rebekah is before thee take her and go and let her be thy Master's Son's Wife as the Lord hath spoken at which words the Servant worshipped the Lord and bowed himself to the earth and the servant brought forth Jewels of Silver and Gold and gave them to Rebekah and gave precious things to her Mother and Brother and when they had eat and drunk they set forwards towards his Master and as they were returning home Isaac met them by the way and she said unto the servant what man is this and he said it is my Master therefore she took a vail and covered her self and the servant told Isaac all that he had done and Isaac brought her into his Mother Sarah's Tent and took Rebekah and she became his Wife and he loved her and Isaac was comforted after his Motherâ— death These are the Generations of Isaac Abraham's Son Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah to Wife the Daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-Aram the Sister to Laban the Syrian and Isaac entreated the Lord for his Wife because she was barren and the Lord was entreated of him and Rebekah his Wife conceived and the children struggled within her and she said why am I thus and she went to enquire of the Lord and the Lord said unto her two Nations are in thy Womb and two manner of People shall be separated from thy Bowels the one people shall be stronger than the other and the elder shall serve the younger And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled behold there were twins in her Womb and the first came out red all over like an hairy Garment and they called his name Esau and after that came his brother out and his hand took hold of Esau's heel and his name was called Jacob Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them Here was the two Nations and the two seeds comprehended and brought forth of one Womb the Lord foreknowing and foreseeing this thing as he spoke unto Rebekah as the Apostle testifies that when the Children were yet in the Womb unborn having done neither good nor evil that the purpose of God according to the election might stand not of works but of him that calleth it was said unto her the elder shall serve the younger as it is written Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated Rom. 9.11 12 13. of this Esau's stock came the Edomites of which we shall say more hereafter But the word of the Lord by his Prophet Malachi I have loved you saith the Lord yet ye say wherein hast thou loved us was not Esau saith the Lord Jacob's Brother yet I loved Iacob and I hated Esau and laid his mountains and his herritage waste for the Dragons of the Wilderness Mal. 1.2 3. And again Hos 12. Ephraim feedeth on wind he daily increaseth in lies and they do make a Covenant with the Assyrians and carrieth Oyl into Egypt and not only the stock of Esau but also Jacob and Iudah had grieved the Lord at this time this Prophesie was after Iudah and Israel had sinned against the Lord and commited abominations as you may read in the 2 Kings 25. and Hos 12.2 The Lord hath also a controversie with Iudah and will punish Iacob according to his waies according to his doings will be recompense him he took his brother by the heel in the Womb and by his strength he had power with God he had power over the Angel he wept and
made supplication unto him and prevailed he sound him in Bethel even the Lord the God of Hosts the Lord his memorial ver 5 Esau was a cunning hunter and Iacob was a plain man dwelling in Tents and Isaac loved Esau but Rebekah loved Iacob And Iacob sod pottage and Esau came from the field and he was faint and Esau said to Iacob feed me I pray thee with that same red pottage for I am faint therefore was his name called Edom and Iacob said sell me this day thy birthright and Esau said I am at the point to die and what shall this birthright do to me And he sware to him and he sold his birthright unto Iacob then Iacob gave Esau bread and pottage of Lentals and he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way thus Esau despised his Birth-right Gen. 25 26. to the end according to that of the Apostle Heb. 12.16 17. who for one morsel of meat sold his birth-right And there was a Famine in the Land and Isaac went unto Abimelech King of the Philistines and the Lord appeared unto him and said go not down into Egypt dwell in the Land which I shall tell thee of so journ in this Land and I will be with thee and I will bless thee for unto thee and unto thy seed I will give all these Countries and I will perform the Oath which I sware unto thy Father Abraham and I will make thy seed to multiply as the Stars of Heaven and will give unto thee all these Countries and in thy seed shall all the Nations be blessed because that Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge my Commandments my Statutes and my Laws so Isaac dwelt in Gerar and sowed in that Land and received in that year one hundred fold for the Lord blessed him And it came to pass when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim he called Esau his eldest Son and he said behold I am old and know not the day of my death therefore take thy Bow and thy weapons and go to the field to take me some Venison and make me savoury meat such as I love that my soul may bless thee before I die and Rebekah heard what Isaac spake unto Esau and when Esau was gone into the field to hunt Rebekah spake unto Jacob her Son saying I heard thy Father speak unto Esau thy Brother saying bring me Venison and make me savoury meat that I may eat and bless thee before the Lord before my death now therefore my Son obey my voice do that I command thee go to the flock fetch me two good Kids of the Goats and I will make thee savoury meat for thy Father such as he loveth and thou shalt bring it to thy Father that he may eat and that he may bless thee before his death and Jacob said to Rebekah his Mother my brother is an hairy man and I am a smooth man and my Father peradventure will feel me and I shall seem to him to be a deceiver and I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing And his Mother said unto him upon me be thy curse my Son only obey my voice and go fetch them and he went and fetched them and brought them to his Mother and she made savoury meat such as his Father loved and Rebekah took raiment of her eldest Son Esau's and put them upon Jacob and she put the skins of the Kids upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck and she gave the savoury meat and the bread that she had prepared into the hand of her Son Jacob and he came unto his Father and said my Father and he said here am I who arâ— thou my Son and Iacob said unto his Father I am Esau thy first-born I have done according as thou badest me arise and eat of my Venison that thy soul may bless me and Isaac saidunto him how is it that thou hast found it so quickly my Son and he said because the Lord thy God brought it to me and Isaac said unto Iacob come near that I may feel thee whether thou be my very Son Esau or not and Iacob went near unto Isaac and he felt him and said the voice is Iacob's but the hands are the hands of Esau and he discerned him not because his hands were hairy as Esau's were so he blessed him and he said unto him art thou my very Son Esau and he said I am and he said bring it neer unto me that I may eat of my Sons Venison that my Soul may bless thee and Isaac said come near my Son and kiss me and he came near and kissed him and he smelled of his Raiment and blessed him and he said I give thee of the dew of Heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of Corn and Wine let all people serve thee and Nations bow down to thee be Lord over thy Brethren let thy Mothers Sons bow down unto thee cursed be every one that curseth thee and blessed be he that blesseth thee And as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Iacob Esau came from his hunting and brought his Venison and made savoury meat for his Father and said let my Father arise and eat of his Sons Venison that thy Soul may bless me and Isaac said unto him who art thou he said I am thy first-born Esau and Isaac trembled very exceedingly and he said where is he that hath brought me Venison and I have eaten before thou camest and I have blessed him yea and he shall be blessed and when Esau heard the words of his Father he cryed with an exceeding bitter cry and said bless me even me also my Father 〈◊〉 he said thy brother came with subtlety and hath taken away â—â—y blessing and he said is he not rightly named Iacob for he hath supplanted me this two times he took away my birth-right and now behold he hath taken away my blessing Here is a Parable and a mystery concerning these passages for if Isaac had blessed Esau he had blessed the wrong birth for God calls himself by the name of the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob this is my name and my memorial for ever saith the Lord Exod. 3.15 And Christ Jesus saith that he is the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob Mat. 22.32 Certainly Iacob was the right seed which the blessing of the Lord was to for Cain was the first birth but he was the wrong seed And so Esau was the first birth but not the seed of the Promise which the blessing was to though Isaac loved Esau if he had given him the blessing it had not been so well but the Lord ordered it otherwise the Apostle saith by faith Isaac blessed Iacob and the very name of Iacob signifieth a Supplanter and so he was to supplant his Brother and root him out for Cain the elder Brother slew his Brother Abel but the Lord hath given
Captivity but even when they were in the Captivity the Lord sent his Prophets unto them as you may see hereafter The word of the Lord came expresly to Ezekiel the Priest the Son of Buzi in the Land of the Caldeans by the River Chebar and the hand of the Lord was there upon him as he was amongst the Captives Ezek. 1.3 and the Spirit entred into me and when he spake unto me and set me on my feet he said unto me Son of man I sent thee to the Children of Israel a rebellious Nation that have rebelled against me they and their Fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day for they are impudent Children and stiff necked I do send thee unto them and thou shalt say thus saith the Lord God Chap. 2. and so on as you may read throughout the Prophesie of Ezekiel And Jeremiah in his Lamentations saith how doth the City sit solitary that was full of people how is she become as a Widdow Judah is gone into Captivity because of affliction and because of her great servitude she dwelleth amongst the Heathen she findeth no rest all her Persecutors overtook her as you may read on through the Lamentation of Jeremiah Daniel the first Chap. in the third year of Jehojakim King of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it Judah and Jerusalem in Captivity and the Lord gave Iehojakim King of Iudah into his hands with pâ—rt of the Vessels of the House of God which he carried into the Land of Shinar and he brought the Vessels into the Treasury of the House of his God ver 1.2 Now this King Nebuchadnezzar spake to the Master of the Eunuchs that he should bring certain of the Children of Israel and of the Kings seed and of the Princes now amongst these were the Children of Iudah amongst which Daniel was one as you may read Dan. 1. and so on to Chap. 9. In the first year of Darius in the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by Books the number of years whereof the word of the Lord came to Ieremiah the Prophet that he would accomplish seventy years in the Desolations of Ierusalem Dan. 9.1.2 And so Daniel set his heart unto the Lord and prayed and he was answered in the 24. ver seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy City to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting Righteousness and to seal up the Vision and the Prophesie and to annoint the most holy as you may read to the end of the Chapter and it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished that I will punish the King of Babylon that Nation saith the Lord for their iniquities And the Prophet Malachy he saith that Iudah hath dealt treacherously and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Ierusalem for Iudah hath prophaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved and hath marryed the Daughter of a strange God the Lord will cut off the man that doth this for the God of Israel saith that he hateth putting away for one covereth violence with his Garment therefore take heed that ye deal not treacherously saith the Lord Mal. 2. And as these holy Prophets prophesied of their going into Captivity so likewise they prophesied of their returning back again as you may read in Isaiah 45. and Ieremiah 24. and 25. Chapters Thus saith the Lord to his annointed to Cyrus whose right hand I have holden to subdue Nations before him Isa 45.1 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jghojakim Son of Iosiah King of Iudah that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon the which Ieremiah the Prophet spake unto all the People of Iudah and all the Inhabitants of Ierusalem saying this whole Land shall be a desolation and an astonishment and these Nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years and it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished that I will punish the King of Babylon and that Nation saith the Lord for their iniquity and I will make the Caldeans a perpetual desolation Jer. 25.11 12. In the first year of Cyrus King of Persia that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Ieremiah and Isaiah might be fulfilled the Lord stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus King of Persia that he made a Proclamation throughout the Kingdom and put it in writing saying thus saith Cyrus King over Persia the Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the Kingdoms of the Earth and hath charged me to build him an House at Ierusalem which is in Iudah who is there amongst you of all his people his God be with him and let him go up to Ierusalem which is in Iudah and build the House of the Lord God of Israel for the House of God is in Ierusalem Then rose up the chief of the Fathers of Judah and Benjamin and the Priests and the Levites with all them whose spirit God had raised to go up to build the House of the Lord which is in Ierusalem also Cyrus the King brought forth the Vessels of the House of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Ierusalem and had put them in the House of his Gods and this confirmeth the Prophesie of Isaiah who prophesied long before they went into Captivity and said to Ierusalem thou shalt be inhabited and saith to the Cities of Iudah ye shall be built that saith of Cyrus he is my Shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure even saying to Ierusalem thou shalt be built and to the Temple thy Foundations shall be laid Isaiah 44.28 And in Ieremiah Chap. 29. thus saith the Lord that after seventy years are accomplished in Babylon I will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return to this place for I know the thoughts that I think towards you saith the Lord are thoughts of peace and not of evil ver 11 12. hear ye therefore the word of the Lord all ye of the Captivity whom I have sent from Ierusalem to Babylon turn ye again every one from his evil way and dwell in the Land that the Lord hath given you ver 28. and Ier. Chap. 31. Thus saith the Lord a voice was heard in Ramah lamentation and bitter weeping Rachel weeping for her Children and refused to be comforted for her Children because they were not Thus saith the Lord refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears for thy work shall be rewarded saith the Lord and they shall come again from the Land of the Enemy and there is hope in thine end saith the Lord that thy Children shall come again to their own border ver 15 16 17. And Amos the 4. I have overthrown some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and ye were as a Firebrand plucked out of the burning yet have ye not returned unto
all the works of his hands and gave him dominion and power over them and here is the glory of the first man and the glory of the first body the visible glory of the Creation all things that God had made in the Heaven and in the Earth and when he looked upon them behold they were very good Adam was crowned with the glory of them all and had the Dominion over them but this Dominion he lost and this glory he stained through his disobedience and transgression and so fell and became servant and in a state of servitude and not only so but painful and miserable with a sentence upon him that in the sweat of his face he should eat his bread So after this as hath been shewed the Lord of his infinite mercy confirmed his eternal love and Election of Grace in his promise unto his seed and Covenant unto Abraham that of him he would bring forth a seed in whom all the Nations of the earth should be blessed which he hath faithfully and perfectly performed as hath been shewed And so he chose a people from amongst all the families of the earth that he did owne for himself as you may read Deut. 7.6 which he knew and had regard and love unto above all the families of the earth as hath been shewed and manifested Yet according as Adam did there rebell and transgress against him though he had a continual care and an eye over them and a continual regard unto them and watched over them by his holy Angels as you may read in the Scriptures for man was at that time lower than the Angels The Lord spake unto Abraham and Sarah by Angels and unto Jacob and the Lord spake unto Moses by his Angel Exod. 3.2 and Acts 7.3 where Stephen saith And God sent Moses to be a Ruler and a Deliverer by the hand of the Angel which appeared to him in the Bush God also sent his Ange unto David after he had numbred the people as you may read 1 Chron. 21. God sent an Angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it and when David â—ift up his eyes and saw the Angel of the Lord stand between the Earth and the Heaven having a drawn sword in his hand stretched over Jerusalem then David and the Elders of Israel humbled themselves as you may read after then the Lord commanded the Angel and he put up his sword into its sheath The Angel also was sent unto Zacharias and Elisabeth before the Birth of John and unto Mary before the Birth of Christ as you know and the Angel came unto the Shepherds after the Birth of Christ Luke 2.9 And the Angels came and ministred unto him Math. 4.11 So the revelation of Jesus Christ was signified by his Angel Rev. 1. with many more that might be brought Cornelius was warned of God by an Angel Acts 10. and Stephen when he was bearing his testimony before the High-Priest when he said Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears which of the Prophets have not your Fathers persecuted and slain them which shewed before of the coming of the just one of whom ye have been betrayers and murtherers who have received the Law by the disposition of Angels and have not kept it Acts 7.53 and Gal. 3.19 The Law was ordained by Angels in the hand of a Mediator So the Prophets and such as the Lord made Overseers and Leaders of his people the Lord spoke to them by his Angels and the Law they received by the Angels but as the Apostle saith in the fulness of time God sent forth his Son made of a woman made under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law Gal. 4.3 for what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us read on in Rom. 8. So they that walk after the Spirit they are those that fulfill the righteousness of the Law for the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus makes free from the Law of sin and death and this renews into the right and into the perfect Image which is not lower than the Angels but into the Image of the Son unto which all the Angels are subject according to the Apostles words Heb. 1. God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son whom he hath appointed Heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds who being the brightness of his Fathers Glory and the express Image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins for that was the work he was to do when as the Apostle saith he became lower than the Angels for the suffering of death and so took not upon him the nature of Angels but the seed of Abraham and there he hath tasted death for every man that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time subject to Bondage and when he had finished this work he is set down on the right hand of the Majesty on high being made so much better than the Angels as he hath by an inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they for to which of the Angels said he at any time Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee And again when he bringeth in his first begotten into the world he said Let all the Angels worship him and to his Angels he saith Who hath made his Angels Spirits and his Ministers a flame of fire but unto the Son he saith Thy Throne O God is for ever a Scepter of Righteousness is the Scepter of thy Kingdom And so on So here you may see as the first man was made a little lower than the Angels so the second man the Lord from Heaven the quickening spirit is made higher than the Angels the brightness of the Fathers glory and his express image And so this is the seed and body and image which the Lord God is raising and restoring and preparing to do his will which far exceeds the glory of the first body for the glory of the first body was a visible glory but the glory of the second man the second body is an invisible glory and known and seen by the invisible eye and manifested by the invisible power and spirit of our Lord Jesus in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins who is the image of the invisible God and the first born of every creature by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth visible and invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were created by him and for